


Photo Album

by NobodyOfficial



Category: Black-ish (TV), In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Other characters are mentioned but don't really make an appearance, They're cute, but not really intense or anything, photo album, very little angst, young!johan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 14:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10721208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyOfficial/pseuds/NobodyOfficial
Summary: Usnavi and Johan look through some of Johan's childhood photos, learning a little about his past as they go. Usnavi only hopes Johan doesn't repeat some of his childhood behaviours.





	Photo Album

**Author's Note:**

> Bonjour, in case you don't know I am literally The Trash but this ship is adorable and needs more fics. midnigtartist on tumblr created this ship and makes some adorable art, and so far I've read some fab fics by limpblotter and hamiltonhistory (basically there are some much better people than me working on this, go look at their stuff) and I'm sure there are many more I haven't discovered yet, sorry, but since I am actually Aaron Burr and all I do is Wait For It I decided to just go for it for once.

Usnavi eagerly took the photo album from Johan and sat it on his lap. Johan had recently returned from a visit to his family in California, and Usnavi had requested that he brought a photo album back with him. Johan knew all about Usnavi's childhood because it was all around them; just a couple of blocks away was the park he played in as a kid, a few streets over was a club he'd frequented in his twenties, and every person they passed in the morning had a story they wanted to share about Usnavi growing up. Every inch of Washington Heights told Johan a little more Usnavi's past.

Of course, Usnavi loved sharing this with Johan, but he couldn't quell the curiosity that clawed at his mind each time Johan spoke of his own unconventional childhood. So when he saw an opportunity for a glimpse at Johan's upbringing, no matter how small, he took it.

Usnavi reached to open the album, but felt Johan's hand on top of his. "Wait," he said softly, his usual bright expression replaced by one of slight worry. "Just a warning. I was a bit of a weird kid."

Usnavi smiled and leaned against his boyfriend's shoulder. "I wouldn't expect any less." He turned the first page and was immediately struck by how colourful all the pictures were. Bright eyed children in tie-dye clothes collected wild flowers and wove beaded dream catchers. Usnavi's heart fluttered. Johan was... Definitely one of the cute kids on that page. All three Johnsons were dressed in traditionally feminine clothing, usually with flowers plaited in their hair or bangles adorning their wrists.

"Sooo..." Usnavi looked up at Johan. "Is this you?" He pointed to a picture of a child in a loose-fitting blue shirt and denim shorts with their hair in pigtails and several large bracelets stacked up one arm.

"Nah," Johan chuckled. "That's Santamonica. You can tell by her snooty expression."

"What do you mean? You make that expression all the time," Usnavi laughed, although he could now see the resemblance between the young girl in the photo and the pictures Johan had shown him of Santamonica.

"I do not," Johan frowned, pulling a face uncannily similar to young Santamonica's expression. Usnavi smirked and shook his head.

"So show me a picture of you then."

Johan pointed to a toddler in a denim skirt and tie-dye t-shirt. "The skirt was Santamonica's, the t-shirt was Bow's. I got all my sisters' old clothes, but I didn't mind at that age. We shouldn't gender clothes, it's dumb. Actually, we shouldn't gender anything, it's just something we made up-"

As Johan continued to rant Usnavi took a closer look at the picture. He could see the resemblance now: soft features, large, chocolaty eyes, corkscrew curls. It was strange seeing Johan so small and young and chubby, but he was undeniably a beautiful, photogenic child. Usnavi suspected they'd get to the end of the photo album without Johan having a single awkward photo.

Having brought his speech to a close, Johan turned his attention back to Usnavi. "So?" He asked nervously.

"You were such a pretty kid, I'm so jealous," Usnavi smiled, wrapping an arm around Johan's waist to pull himself closer. "Show me some more!"

"Oh, alright." Johan hesitantly turned the page, revealing more pictures of iridescent children out in the wild. "That was my first day of school." He pointed to a picture of himself in the denim shorts Santamonica had been wearing in the previous picture and a t-shirt that said RECYCLE in large, bold letters.

"You are so cute!" Usnavi squealed in delight, pulling the photo album closer.

"Yeah, I wasn't popular. I cried every morning for the next month so that my mom wouldn't send me to school. When she did I ran straight back home again. Eventually Bow gave me a very stern talking to about my future, a little too stern for a five year old, but I was a little less keen to skip school after that." Usnavi frowned slightly, glancing at Johan, who couldn't seem to keep his gaze off the floor. He'd attended a small, local school where he hadn't exactly been popular, but he'd had close friends and everyone knew him by name. He valued his education and eagerly took on board the business advice his parents passed on. So the concept of hating school to the point he didn't want to attend it was a new one to Usnavi.

"Well... At least you settled in eventually, right?" He offered weakly. "Didn't Santamonica help you?"

Grimacing, Johan turned a couple of pages and pointed to a picture of his sister, dressed up as if she was going to a rave. "This is my sister on my seventh birthday. She's going to stay at a friend's house because she couldn't stand the fact that a whole day was going to revolve around me." Usnavi decided now was not a good time to mention that every day revolved around Johan, he was just too self-absorbed to notice.

"What about Bow?" The few times that Usnavi had met Johan's eldest sister she had seemed fiercely protective and loving towards her little brother.

"Oh, by this point she was smack in the middle of her identity crisis. She spent all her time trying to impress her friends, I barely saw her." He shrugged it off, but Usnavi could see the desperation in Johan's eyes. He'd clearly been overindulged and spoiled as a child, but the attention hadn't come from the people who mattered.

"And this," Johan pointed to a picture of himself sat at a long table, "was my seventh birthday party."

"There's no one there," Usnavi said, stating the obvious.

"I know," Johan sighed. "I didn't hand out the invitations."

"Why not?"

"I knew no one would come if I did. But knowing that and experiencing it are two very different things, I didn't think I could stand it if I invited everyone and no one showed up. This way I could tell myself no one came because I didn't invite them, not because they hated me." Usnavi wriggled even closer to Johan, showing him that there was someone here now that loved and understood and cared about him. He smiled softly. "I ate the whole cake and threw up in the park. My parents were furious. My sisters were jealous. They rarely got sugar, but I could get whatever I wanted if I smiled wide enough." Usnavi smirked; just as he'd suspected.

They flicked through a few more pages of the album; when Johan hit middle school he very quickly lost his baby fat and grew tall and well-muscled, but if anything he seemed more self conscious. Usnavi had always assumed Johan was very comfortable, he acted as such, but he began to wonder if that wasn't the case.

Once Bow left for college the pictures rapidly decreased. Ever so often there was a snapshot of a family gathering, or a picture Bow had sent home, but the picture Usnavi had been building of Johan's life slowed construction and remained unfinished. "What happened?" He queried. "Run out of disposable cameras?"

"I just wasn't around much. Tended to wander. I'd stay with anyone who'd let me in. I studied really hard in high school, but only so I could afford to get away from there. It felt suffocating after a while. I was sick of life." Usnavi startled. "Sick of what my life was like. I just wanted to get away." Johan looked down at Usnavi, who was momentarily lost for words, but gently laid his hand on Johan's forearm as a form of comfort.

"Is that why you move around a lot?" He asked eventually.

Johan nodded. "I guess. Places become stifling. They make me feel tingly and uncomfortable, like it's humid, and I have to get out of there to cool down a bit."

Usnavi wondered how long it would take before The Heights became stifling for Johan. Or New York. Or even North America. Maybe right now, as they sat huddled on the sofa, he was planning his escape to somewhere cooler. Somewhere new. He knew it was foolish to think he could make Johan stay just by loving him, that had never stopped him leaving anywhere before, but he also knew it was foolish to just give up hope and wait for him to leave.

Reaching in to his back pocket, Usnavi pulled out his wallet and from that retrieved a small pile of photos. There was one of his parents, and one of Sonny on his first day of school, and one of Abuela Claudia. And one of himself and Johan. The fact that printed photos were no longer so common didn't stop Usnavi from keeping them. On the very rare occasions he found himself outside the barrio he liked to have something physical of the people he cared about most.

Usnavi plucked the picture from the pile, then slid it in to one of the empty pockets at the back of the photo album. "If you stay," he said, "we should take some pictures of our family one day." It was a light statement with no promise of serious commitment, but one that Usnavi hoped showed Johan that, if he wanted to, they could build a family he didn't have to run away from.

For a moment Johan's eyes flicked between Usnavi and the picture, then he nodded theatrically, hair bouncing. "That sounds like a good idea," he said with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Félicitations if you made it to the end mes amis, thank you so much for reading. I have a few tumblr URLs but I think everyonewholovesmehasdied is probably the most relevant one if you're reading this fic, so feel free to hit me up. I'm literally always procrastinating on tumblr.
> 
> This was written quite quickly, so sorry for any mistakes!
> 
> Well... Thanks :)


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